Red Hook, NY

August 14, 2018

I was up early again and walked to breakfast at a local eatery, Otto's Breakfast and Deli. They served a big breakfast, so I was content when I pushed off from the hotel. But the weather forecast was not promising, and neither were the skies!

The view from my hotel window . . . I was up relatively high on the 12th floor.

Today's ride to Red Hook.

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But I sallied forth with confidence. It will be what it will be! It was easy making my way out of town, although the first ten miles were a bit busier than I expected. Still, the scenery was nice. I was headed for the better part of the Berkshires, I guess.

The scenery all day was rather bucolic . . . but ponds and trees always catch my eye.

Ten miles got me to West Stockbridge, a town that seemed to be a place well worth lingering in. After that, it got very quiet and very nice . . . and hilly too. I didn't take as many pictures through this part as I might have, but this clearly looked like the neighborhood to be in if you have money . . . so you can have that private tennis court nestled away in the woods if you want one. The roads were relatively narrow, well-shaded, and without much traffic. In fact, I saw plenty of walkers, which told me I was in bike-friendly territory. But there were occasional challenges besides hills . . .

My first section of dirt road was only 1/2 mile long and pretty easy to tackle.

But most of it looked like this . . . and don't let the double yellow line scare you. There was little traffic after Stockbridge.

And when the terrain opened up, I could see mountains in the distance. At first, I presumed these to be on the far side of the Hudson River . . . but now I think they are part of the Mt Everett State Reservation.

So I pressed on, using mostly backcountry-type roads with a few interludes on state highways, which always had good shoulders on them. At some point, right before getting onto NY-23, I must have left Massachusetts, but there was no "Welcome to New York" sign; the road was that remote. But the more into New York I traveled, and the more west I went, the less remote it got.

After about six miles on NY-23, I turned left onto Route 11 and then Route 10, both county roads but of a more substantial quality than what I had been on in Massachusetts.

The further west and the more into New York I went, the more it looked like horse country in Virginia, where I ride a lot. And these mountains for sure are on the far side of the Hudson River.

It was definitely starting to look more like New York now . . . and what I imagined the Hudson River Valley would look like as well, although I was surprised at the large horse farms. It reminded me of the area around Middleburg, where I bike often . . . and where you find many horses.

St John's Lutheran Church near Elizaville, NY.

Small rapids on Roeliff Jansen Kill, also in Elizaville.

As you can see, the weather improved dramatically over the day . . . until about five miles out of Red Hook.

Storm clouds gathered very quickly in the four miles since I left the lake.

Even though I got caught in some early sprinkles, I didn't stop to put on my raincoat. In fact, I only stopped in Red Hook to buy a Gatorade . . . and confirm the location of my B&B, which turned out to be not far away. And by then, the "sprinkles" had stopped, for a while anyway.

Downtown Red Hook . . . with no rain in sight.

And my B&B, The Red Hook Country Inn. But shortly after checking in, it really opened up . . . as in cats and dogs!

The hosts at the Red Hook Country Inn are delightful and very bike-friendly. But after dinner, I turned in early. I'm not used to these hills; it's been a pretty flat tour so far!

Today's ride: 58 miles (93 km)
Total: 1,327 miles (2,136 km)

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